Hanger for a plumbing fixture



Jan. 11, 1966 J. A. WINKLER HANGER FOR A PLUMBING FIXTURE Filed Dec.

INVENTOR J asap/1 flA/r/mwr MA/KLEA j'iq/tz/ ATTORNEY United StatesPatent 3,228,037 HANGER FQR A PLUMBING FIXTURE Joseph Anthony Winkier,Glenolden, Pa., assignor to American Radiator & Standard SanitaryCorporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Fiied Dec. 20,1961, 'Ser. No. 160,744 3 Claims. (Cl. 4-170) This invention relates towash basins or lavatories which are used in bathrooms and moreparticularly to hangers for supporting such basins and lavoratories on awall. The invention is particularly well suited for use with vitreouschina lavatories.

Various hangers have been employed in the past for mounting lavatorieson walls. One of the problems encountered in mounting lavatories onwalls, particularly in public places, has been the fact that suchlavatories sometimes are dislodged from their hangers either becausesomeone applies an upward lift to the lavatory or, where the lavatoryfor example is made of vitreous china, a downward pressure on the farend of the lavatory thus causing it to slipupwardly from the hangersupport. This problem is most frequently encountered with vitreouschina, due to the fact that vitreous china has a closely texturedsurface which facilitates its sliding out from its hanger. Also, becauseof the nature of vitreous china, the portion of the china which has thesupporting flange formed thereon is of a sufficiently large angle thatit increases the possibility of this happening.

The hangers developed heretofore to overcome this deficiency have eithernot been readily adaptable for china lavatories or have been cumbersomeor have had a tendency to cause breakage of the lavatory.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a hanger wherethe lavatory will seat snugly in the hanger and which will be of asimple design and economical to manufacture.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hanger for lavatorieswhich will be concealed and of such sturdy construction that it cansatisfactorily and effectively support lavatories of vitreous china.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hanger for a lavatorywherein means are provided for positively clamping the lavatory to thehanger so that it cannot be lifted or dislodged from its hanger.

A further object of this invention is to provide a holddown device for alavatory which will be self-centering to equally distribute thehold-down pressure over the entire hanger.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holddown device whichwill tend to exert a compressive force on the lavatory rather than atensile force.

A further object of this invention is to provide a holddown clamp whichwill have a resilient connection with the hanger and which will beadaptable for use with a hand-tightened wing-nut.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holddown structure foruse with a lavatory which can be easily connected and applied to thelavatory but will not be exposed to view.

A further object of this invention is to provide a lavatory hanger whichcan be readily employed with or without a hold-down device.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear "ice as thedescription of the particular embodiment selected to illustrate theinvention progresses. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part ofthis specification, like characters of reference have been applied tocorrespond ing parts throughout the several views which make up thedrawings.

FIGURE 1 shows a partial cross-sectional side elevation, taken on line11 of FIG. 2, of a lavatory supported on my improved hanger employingimproved hanger hold-down device.

FIGURE 2 is a partial cross-sectional front elevation, taken on line 2-2of FIG. 1, showing my hanger mounted on the wall with the hold-downdevice.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of my improved hanger without thehold-down device.

Referring to the drawings, the hanger 10 consists of an elongatedstamped sheet or plate of metal having one or more slots 12 and 14formed therein and suitable holes 16 punched in its upper side. Theupper surface has two projections or flange cars 18 and 19 which extendupwardly at an angle to the elongated flat surface 10. Suitablestrengthening indentations 20 and 22 may be formed in the two ears orflanges 18 and 19 to provide additional rigidity to the ears if thisshould be found desirable. The bottom portion of the bracket 10 has anindentation 24 formed in the metal to receive an angle clamp in a mannerlater described. Instead of being made from a stamping of sheet iron,the bracket could also be made of cast iron or aluminum.

The hanger 10 is mounted on the wall in the manner shown in FIGS. 1 and2. In mounting the hanger on the wall, the plumber will first secure thehanger by two screws 26 and 28, extending through the slots 12 and 14,thus permitting him to adjust the hanger up and down to properlyposition and level the same before tightening the screws 26 and 28. Whenthe screws 26 and 28 have been tightened, he then secures the screws 30in their respective holes 16, thus firmly securing the hanger 10 to thewall.

When the hanger has been secured to the wall 32 in this manner, theplumber places the lavatory 34 in place as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Therear back side of the lavatory has a downwardly extending flange 36formed with an inside taper 38 which seats itself firmly on the flangeears 18 and 19. It will be noted that the angle of the flange cars 18and 19 correspond to the angle 38 formed on the flange 36 of lavatory34.

As the lavatory 34 is slid into position in this manner, the rearportion 40 of the flange 36 comes into contact with the wall 32, thusseating the lavatory securely against the wall. This arrangement willfrequently be quite sutficient to support a lavatory in the bathroom ofa domestic dwelling, where it is not subjected to abnormal use. Inschools or public places, however, there is sometimes a tendency forusers of these facilities to lift the lavatory upwardly. If thewaterline connections and the wastepipe connections are not sufficientlystrong or rigid to hold the lavatory downwardly in its hanger, it mightbecome dislodged. Likewise, if downward pressure is exerted on theportion of the lavatory which extends farthest from the wall, theremight be a lever-action effect exerted on the lavatory which will causethe upper flange 36 to slide upwardly on the flanges 18 and 19, thuscausing the lavatory to become dislodged from its hanger.

To overcome these problems, a hole 42 was formed in the flange 36 so asto permit the hook end 44 of an anchor rod 46 to engage with this hole42. At the bottom of the Wall bracket 10, one arm 50 of an angle bracket48 is inserted under the indentation 24 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Theother arm 52 extends outwardly from the wall 32 and bracket 10. Thissurface has a hole 54 formed therein through which the lower threadedend of bolt 46 extends. A winged finger-tightening nut 56 is screwed onto the bolt 46, and thus exerts a downward pull on the flange 36 of thelavatory 34 to hold it securely in place On the flange ears 18 and 19.It will be noted that this bolt 46 is so located that it will notinterfere with free movement of the vertical operating rod of the pop-updrain.

By employing a single bolt 46, engaging with the center of lavatoryflange 36, for holding down the lavatory it will be noted that thelavatory 34 will automatically distribute the downward force beingexerted thereon over the two upwardly extending flange cars 18 and 19 ofbracket 10. It might be mentioned that if there were any irregularity inthe formation of the flange 36, there would be no tendency to rockbecause the lavatory is supported on opposite sides. This feature avoidsany rocking tendency as might occur were there a bump in either theflange 36 or in a hanger which was made with a continuous flange.

It will also be noted the flange through which the hole 42 extends has agreat deal of supporting area so as to provide more for compressiveforces, rather than tensile forces, which might tend to break the china.In this connection, it should be noted that the angle bracket 48 alsohas an inherent resilient force which, combined with the fingertightening of winged nut 56, also minimizes any tendency for the flange36 to be broken at the area where the hook 44 engages with the flange36. It will be apparent in the mounted lavatory shown in FIG. 2 thatthere are no exposed members extending from the bracket which couldeither detract from the appearance of the lavatory or compriseobjectionable extensions on which individuals could either injurethemselves or snag material.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that I have provideda lavatory wall bracket which is easy to manufacture and which isreadily adaptable to minor variations in inaccuracies that are sometimesencountered in the manufacture of china lavatories or in Wall bracketsupports as could occur either in manufacture or in handling.

It will also be clear that while my hanger is designed for use with ahold-down clamp, by leaving off the angle bracket and clamping bolt andnut, it can be used without any hold-down means where this is notnecessary. I have thus provided a simple, universal hanger that can beadapted to the use situation that the installer encounters.

The invention hereinabove described may, therefore, be varied inconstruction within the scope of the claims, for the particular deviceselected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possibleembodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to berestricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a lavatory and a hold-down hanger for supporting saidlavatory on a wall, said hold-down hanger comprising a bracket having apair of spaced flange ears extending upwardly and outwardly at an anglefrom the general plane of said bracket, said bracket having openingsformed therein through which fastening means are inserted to secure thebracket to a wall, said lavatory having an elongated flange formedacross the rear thereof, said elongated flange having an angularcross-sectional configuration which corresponds to the angle of thebracket flange ears, said flange ears receiving said lavatory flange tosupport the weight of the lavatory, said lavatory flange being ofsuflicient rigidity independently of the remaining. structure of thelavatory to avoid fracture thereof as the lavatory is supported by saidflange ears, means formed in the longitudinal center portion of thelavatory flange defining an opening, a hold-down clamping bolt havingone end which is received in said lavatory flange opening, support meansextending from a lower side of said bracket and generally underlyingsaid lavatory flange opening receiving the opposite end of saidhold-down bolt and yieldably supporting the latter, and a fasteningmember engaging said bolt and cooperating with said support means to putthe hold-down bolt under tension and thereby cause the lavatory flangeto seat on the bracket flange ears and to distribute the force exertedby the hold-down bolt on the lavatory flange equally between the bracketflange ears such that the holddown force exerted by the hold-down boltand the opposing weight supporting force exerted on the lavatory flangeby the hanger flange ears are localize-d in the weight supportinglavatory flange to thereby limit stresses in other parts of thelavatory.

2. In combination, a lavatory and a hold-down hanger for supporting saidlavatory on a wall, said hold-down hanger comprising an elongated wallbracket having projections extending upwardly and outwardly from thegeneral plane thereof, said lavatory having an elongated and downwardlyextending flange formed along the rear thereof which is carried in saidwall bracket projections for supporting the weight of the lavatory, saidlavatory flange being of suflicient rigidity independently of theremaining structure of the lavatory to avoid fracture thereof as thelavatory is supported by said wall bracket projections, means formed insaid bracket through which screws or the like are inserted for attachingthe hanger to a wall, yieldable attaching means aflixed to and extendingfrom a lower and central longitudinal portion of said elongated wallbracket, a hold-down bolt having an upper end carried in a generallylongitudinal central opening in said downwardly extending and weightsupporting lavatory flange and a lower end connected to said attachingmeans such that the attaching means may yield as tension is applied tosaid hold-down bolt, and means on said hold-down bolt cooperating withsaid attaching means to apply tension to the hold-down bolt so that thelatter applies a hold-down force on the central portion of thedownwardly extending lavatory flange as the longitudinal end portions ofthe latter are supported in the spaced flanges of the wall bracket suchthat the hold-down force exerted by the hold-down bolt and the opposingweight supporting force exerted on the lavatory flange by the bracketprojections are localized in the weight supporting lavatory flangethereby limiting stresses in other parts of the lavatory.

3. In combination, a plumbing fixture and a hanger for supporting saidplumbing fixture on a wall, said hanger comprising an elongated wallmounted bracket, said bracket having spaced projections extendingupwardly and outwardly of the general plane thereof, a downwardlyextending flange across the rear of said plumbing fixture and receivedin said spaced projections such that the weight of the plumbing fixtureis supported thereby, said plumbing fixture flange being of sufficientrigidity independently of the remaining structure of the plumbingfixture to avoid fracture thereof as the lavatory is supported by saidspaced projections, yieldable attaching means carried at a lower andlongitudinal central portion of said elongated bracket, said plumbingfixture flange having means located in a central longitudinal portionthereof defining an opening, said opening generally overlying saidattaching means, and a bolt having a laterally projecting arm at one endportion thereof carried in said opening in said plumbing fixture flange,adjusting means adjustably connecting the other end of said bolt to saidattaching means whereby said bolt holds said plumbing fixture flangewithin the spaced projections of the wall mounted bracket as the forcesapplied to the plumbing fixture flange by the bolt and the spacedprojections of the wall mounted bracket are localized in the plumbingfixture flange.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 846,022 3/1907Ficener 4-170 1,035,457 8/1912 Madden 4170 2,584,107 2/1952 Beam 41702,846,695 8/1958 Hartog 4187 3,060,454 10/1962 Ament 4170 6 FOREIGNPATENTS 824,397 11/1937 France. 1,105,357 4/1961 Germany.

857,461 12/1960 Great Britain.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

FRANK H. BRONAUGH, FRANK E. BAILEY, ED-

WARD V. BENHAM, Examiners.

0 H. KLINKSIEK, H. GROSS, Assistant Examiners.

3. IN COMBINATION, A PLUMBING FIXTURE AND A HANGER FOR SUPPORTING SAIDPLUMBING FIXTURE ON A WALL, SAID HANGER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED WALLMOUNTED BRACKET, SAID BRACKET HAVING SPACED PROJECTIONS EXTENDINGUPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY OF THE GENERAL PLANE THEREOF, A DOWNWARDLYEXTENDING FLANGE ACROSS THE REAR OF SAID PLUMBING FIXTURE AND RECEIVEDIN SAID SPACED PROJECTIONS SUCH THAT THE WEIGHT OF THE PLUMBING FIXTUREIS SUPPORTED THEREBY, SAID PLUMBING FIXTURE FLANGE BEING OF SUFFICIENTRIGIDLY INDEPENDENTLY OF THE REMAINING STRUCTURE OF THE PLUMBING FIXTURETO AVOID FRACTURE THREEOF AS THE LAVATORY IS SUPPORTED TO SAID SPACEDPROJECTIONS, YIEDLABLE ATTACHING MEANS CARRIED AT A LOWER ANDLONGITUDINAL CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID ELONGATED BRACKET, SAID PLUMBINGFIXTURE FLANGE HAVING MEANS LOCATED IN A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL PORTIONTHEREOF DEFINING AN OPENING, SAID GENERALLY OVERLYING SAID ATTACHINGMEANS, AND A BOLT HAVING A LATERALLY PROJECTING ARM AT ONE END PORTIONTHEREOF CARRIED IN SAID OPENING IN SAID PLUMBING FIXTURE FLANGE,ADJUSTING MEANS ADJUSTABLY CONNECTING THE OTHER END OF SAID BOLT TO SAIDATTACHING MEANS WHEREBY SAID BOLT HOLDS SAID PLUMBING FIXTURE FLANGEWITHIN THE SPACED PROJECTIONS OF THE WALL MOUNTED BRACKET AS THE FORCESAPPLIED TO THE PLUMBING FIXTURE FLANGE BY THE BOLT AND THE SPACEDPROJECTIONS OF THE WALL MOUNTED BRACKET ARE LOCALIZED IN THE PLUMBINGFIXTURE FLANGE.